BMW GS Trophy 2020 – Qualifier USA Date Set
If you think you have what it takes to ride in the BMW Motorrad International GS Trophy 2020 in New Zealand, you are going to have to prove it. You will get your chance from May 30 through June 2 at the GS Trophy 2020 – Qualifier USA event. BMW has announced the date, but the location, rules, and registration details are yet to be announced. RawHyde Adventures will be part of the Qualifier USA competition.
The BMW Motorrad International GS Trophy event has been held every two years since it started in 2008. More than a race, it’s a team effort that required the ability to navigate extreme terrain, the speed and skill to quickly execute special tests, as well as take on team challenges.
“The event is not a race, but a team competition, pitching the GS-riding international contingent against each other in a series of challenges,” according to a BMW spokesman, “and not all involve riding. With the competitors camped nightly in a bivouac, the event also fosters a sense of brotherhood, sisterhood, and camaraderie. Equally, the GS Trophy is a celebration of culture and nature—the riders learning about and understanding the peoples and the terrains of the regions they encounter. So, the successful team will be respectful of the environment, skillful and sympathetic with their machinery, and understanding of teammates.”
The BMW International GS Trophy 2020 Oceania will be held in New Zealand. Already confirmed are teams from Australia, China, France, India, Japan, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Thailand, the UK, and the USA will compete, along with regional teams from Latin America, Nordic countries (Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland), North Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Egypt), plus a Malaysia/Philippines team.
“After Tunisia, Southern Africa, Patagonia, Canada, Thailand, and most recently Mongolia, BMW Motorrad were again looking for a location that offers perfect GS terrain—lots of legal off-road kilometers are required, with demanding route profiles, passing through fascinating landscapes and with plenty of exotic flair,” according to Ralf Rodepeter, Head of Marketing and Product Management BMW Motorrad says. “New Zealand is a perfect fit on those terms. The variety of astounding landscapes from sea to volcanoes to high-altitude mountains, combined with the most beautiful vegetation and the rich Maori culture, provide the perfect setting for what we think will be one of the most exciting International GS Trophies ever held.”
The 2018 edition of the International GS Trophy held in Mongolia included 19 teams and riders from 25 nations was held in Mongolia. Women began participating in the competition in 2016 with an all-female international squad. South Africa won, with the United States team finishing in second place.
Photography by Stephane Guatronn, Markus Jahn, and Peter Musch
BMW International GS Trophy Photo Gallery
